Woodworking Machinery Jig and Fixture System

ABSTRACT

Jigs and fixtures for aligning, guiding, and/or holding a workpiece on woodworking machinery during a woodworking operation are described, as well as methods of making, modifying, and using jigs and fixtures.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/863,725 filed Jan. 5, 2018, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/442,761 filed Jan. 5, 2017, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if all fullyset forth herein.

STATEMENT CONCERNING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to jigs and fixtures for aligning, guiding,and/or holding a workpiece on woodworking machinery during a woodworkingoperation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Woodworking machines utilize various means of positioning or securing aworkpiece as it is cut, drilled or routed. As standard equipment apocket hole jig is usually secured to a movable plywood base. The usualapproach is to add a piece of plywood (or other wood board) to thebottom of the jig, called an auxiliary table top, to provide a morestable surface to secure and control the workpiece. By adding a boardthat is the same thickness as the pocket hole jig to the auxiliary tabletop the workpiece is supported closely adjacent to the drill guide andthere is less chance of the workpiece moving or sliding during thedrilling operation. By adding an extra board to the side of the pockethole jig, a stop system such as the one featured in U.S. Pat. No.5,337,641 can be added to the pocket hole jig set up. The benefit ofthis technique is that the operator knows that the end of the boardbeing drilled is accurately positioned. The accuracy of processingmultiple pieces is improved with a stop system. There is no mechanismfor adding the extrusions of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,641 to the portablebase.

Workpieces with identical holes can then be drilled consistentlyimproving the workmanship of a project. KREG Tool offers an optionalmaterial support stop that has a base that is the same height as the K3and K4 jig bottoms so a long workpiece or panel is supported with thebottom of the workpiece parallel to the floor of the jig. This techniqueof using the material support base eliminates the tedious task of liningup and holding the workpiece in place. In addition, a flippable arm canbe fitted to the base with an adjustable bolt for fine tuning theposition of the board in relationship to the flip stop. Although theKREG support stop can be used to support the bottom of the workpiece andposition the board with the flip stop feature there is a problem withdoing both the support and measuring feature at the same time becausethe base and the flip arm are the same width. The wide part of the fliparm occupies the same space as the workpiece when it is flipped intoposition.

As standard equipment, the KREG jig has three lines on the floor of thebase that are aligned with the center of the pocket hole drill guide.Theoretically, the line could be used to line up a stop for makingconstant multiple pieces but they are small and are often covered by theworkpiece. The outside of the hole would be a better reference forpositioning the workpiece in relationship to the hole (s) or holecombinations. The KREG flip stops that are currently available are notamenable to use for miter workpieces. Known techniques for aligning theworkpiece for the stationary jig and the portable base have typicallybeen different from each other especially since there is no stop systemcurrently manufactured or sold that fits the KREG portable base.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides an improved system for making improvements toand using a pocket hole jig system, such as the KREG pocket hole jig. Awoodworking jig and fixture system of the invention decal/indicia ispositioned on the floor of the stationary jig and the portable jig base.

The invention provides an improved pocket hole jig measuring system witha flip stop for each jig and the portable base to easily measure thedistance between the end of the board and the pocket hole(s). Inaddition, customized hardware for attaching the flip stop to the jig isprovided and described. Instructions are provided for the jig owner oruser to drill holes in the existing jig to mount the flip stops. Theextrusion for the portable base can be screwed to the extrusion hardwareusing the existing holes thus certain existing portable base need noalteration to use the hardware.

In another aspect a color coded hole decal/indicia illustrates theposition of the center of the hole, the outside of the pocket hole, andthe center of pocket hole combinations. On the floor of the jig underthe board is a color-coded hole scale showing the width of holecombinations. A blue line shows the center of the pocket guide holes. Aflip stop on the side of jig has an adjustable threaded bolt which isadjusted to touch the end of the workpiece to position the piece fordrilling the pocket holes.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention willappear in the detailed description which follows. In the description,reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate apreferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a modified pocket hole jig with flipstop assembly attached to the jig with a bolt, which is located underthe drill guide block. A square workpiece board is clamped in the jigand is in contact with an adjustable positioning bolt in the flip stopassembly.

FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the positioning bolt in contact with theworkpiece being drilled.

FIG. 2A is a ¼ inch grid showing the shape of the L-shaped flip stoparm.

FIG. 2B shows how the flip arm rotates through an arc by the use of ahole in the longer leg.

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of the flip arm assembly.

FIG. 2D is an exploded view of the flip arm assembly showing the opennotch near the outside corner of the long leg of the L-shape.

FIG. 3A shows the jig with a square board clamped in the jig. On thefloor of the jig under the board is a color-coded hole decal/indicia.Two flip stop assemblies are shown located on the side of the jig floor.One stop is resting against the workpiece and the one on the oppositeside of the jig is moved out of line with the position of the workpiece.

FIG. 3B is a close up of the stop assembly not in contact with theworkpiece.

FIG. 3C is a close up of the stop assembly that is in contact with theworkpiece.

FIG. 4A shows the jig with a workpiece support board clamped on a tablenext to the jig. A V-shaped notch in the flip arm allows the flip arm torest in alignment with the workpiece and not contact the support board.

FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing the flip arm resting over thesupport board with a close-up view of the V-notch in the middle of theoutside leg of the L-shaped flip arm.

FIG. 4C is an end view of the support board corner fitting into the flipstop arm V-notch.

FIG. 5A is a ground level perspective showing the jig with a flip stopattached on the side of the jig.

FIG. 5B illustrated the floor sides and the interior support ribs of theplastic pocket hole jig.

FIG. 5C shows the flip arm secured to the solid wall of the jig with anut and a bolt positioned in a hole in the jig.

FIG. 5D is an exploded view of FIG. 5C.

FIG. 6A shows the securing bolt engaging a coupler nut inside the jigwhich also is secured to a U-shaped extrusion on the opposite end of thecouple nut. A couple nut is also bolted to the opposite leg of theU-shaped extrusion. An interior rib of the jig is locked between theU-extrusion and the coupler nut.

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the U-extrusion with a cut away view ofhalf of the extrusion side leg showing the bolt threads.

FIG. 6C is an exploded view of the U-extrusion, the couple nut, flip armand bolt.

FIG. 7A is an exploded view of the inside of the jig with a widerU-shaped extrusion that is the width of the double coupler and U-shapedunit described in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C. The bolt secures the flip arm byengaging a threaded hole in the side wall of the custom designedU-shaped extrusion. The view is expanded but the parts are in line witheach other.

FIG. 7B is an exploded view of the inside of the jig with a widerU-shaped extrusion and the flip stop assembly with the parts alignedwith each other.

FIG. 7C is an exploded view of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 8A is a perspective of the custom made U-shaped extrusionillustrating the threaded hole near the side of the side wall.

FIG. 8B illustrates the angle of the outside of the U-shaped extrusionwall to fit the angle of the inside of the jig, such as the injectionmolded KREG jig.

FIG. 8C is the same perspective as FIG. 8B and illustrates small groovesabove and below the threaded hole for the option of gluing the extrusionin place inside the jig.

FIG. 8D illustrates a notch in the inside corner of the extrusion whichallows the side walls to be angled slightly for a snug fit inside thejig.

FIG. 8E is a close up view of the notch.

FIG. 9A is a perspective of the flip arm secured on the long boltattached to the side of the jig under the drill guide block.

FIG. 9B is a close up of the flip stop assembly illustrating the nutlocking the bolt to the jig and showing the detail of the V-notch in themiddle of the flip arm not contacting the support workpiece supportboard.

FIG. 9C a close-up view of the flip stop is in contact with the tip of amitered board.

FIG. 9D illustrates the flip arm assembly positioned on a threaded rodaway from the jig and the flip stop is in contact with the tip of amitered board.

FIG. 9E is a detail of the miter point.

FIG. 10A shows the of the drill guide block sliding into the portablebase.

FIG. 10B is an expanded view of the portable base, the decal/indicia andthe flip arm.

FIG. 10C is a perspective cut away view of the portable base and thescrews that fit through the holes inside the base and thread into theholes on the top of the custom made extrusion.

FIG. 10D is an end view of the portable extrusion showing a T-slot, holeand a U-channel.

FIG. 10E is a sectional view of the extrusion illustrated in FIG. 10D.

FIG. 11A is a perspective showing the angle of a miter joint resting onthe portable jig floor with the tip of the miter contacting the flipstop arm secured to the jig with a long bolt.

FIG. 11B is a close-up view of the FIG. 11A illustrating thedecal/indicia viewable from the front of the portable base floor.

FIG. 11C illustrates the tip of the miter in contact with the flip arm.

FIG. 12A illustrates a version of the flip assembly with the materialsupport arm secure to the jig with a bolt.

FIG. 12B illustrates a groove in the flip arm to easily remove andreposition the adjustment bolt.

FIG. 12C is an enlarged view of FIG. 12A.

FIG. 12D illustrates a V-notch made in the middle of the flip arm.

FIG. 12E is a perspective view of the V-notch added to the flip arm.

FIG. 13A illustrates a modified material support arm, such as the KREGmaterial support arm, that was drilled and taped at 90 degrees from theoriginal through hole. It is threaded on to a bolt secured to the jigand secured with a nut.

FIG. 13B is a close-up view of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C illustrated the FIG. 13A with a mitered board contacting theflip stop.

FIG. 13D is a close up of FIG. 13C showing the miter point against thestop.

FIG. 13E illustrates a workpiece resting on the material support basewith the thin metal flip arm of the invention elevated to engage the endof the board to record the desired position of the workpieces.

FIG. 14A is a perspective of the jig with the drill guide block removedto show the decal/indicia, which is a piece of screen-printed thinaluminum sheet stock die cut in a T-shape with the shape of tworectangles connected to each other.

FIG. 14B illustrates the shape of two rectangles connected to eachother.

FIG. 14C is a close up view of the decal/indicia fitted between the twoelevated ribs on the floor of the jig.

FIG. 15A shows how the body of the drill guide block fits into theportable base.

FIG. 15B is an exploded view of the decal/indicia and the portable base.It shows that the decal/indicia is bent at 90 degrees so that it alsocovers the front floor of the portable base.

FIG. 15C shows the decal/indicia positioned between the elevated ribs atthe bottom of the example injection molded portable base floor.

FIG. 15D is a close-up view of FIG. 15C.

FIG. 15E is a close up of FIG. 15C showing just the dotted lines.

FIG. 16A is a view of the pocket hole jig with the clamp removed foreasy viewing of the decal/indicia on the front of the jig.

FIG. 16B is an enlargement of FIG. 16A showing the relationship betweenthe three pocket hole guide bushings and the decal/indicia. The wideblue line represent the middle of the drill guide holes.

FIG. 17A is a smaller version of FIG. 16B sized so that it can beillustrated on a page with the other sectors of information shown nextto each other.

FIG. 17B illustrates the smaller B and C hole combination.

FIG. 17C illustrates the medium size B and A hole combination.

FIG. 17D illustrates the widest C and A hole combination.

FIG. 17E is a smaller version of FIG. 16B sized so that it can beillustrated on a page with the other sectors of information shown nextto each other.

FIG. 17F illustrates the smaller B and C hole combination.

FIG. 17G illustrates the medium size B and A hole combination.

FIG. 17H illustrates the widest C and A hole combination.

FIG. 17I is a smaller version of FIG. 16B sized so that it can beillustrated on a page with the other sectors of information shown nextto each other.

FIG. 17J illustrates the smaller B and C hole combination center line.

FIG. 17K illustrates the median size B and A hole combination centerline.

FIG. 17L illustrates the widest C and A hole combination center line.

FIG. 18A illustrates the relationship of the pocket hole combinationsusing the symbols for yellow and silver. 91 is the pocket holecombination of holes ABC. 92 is the pocket hole combination of holes BC.93 is the pocket hole combination of holes AB.

FIG. 18B is an enlarged version of FIG. 18A illustrating the overlap ofcombinations 92 and 93.

FIG. 18C illustrates the combination of lines and colored symbols.

FIG. 19A shows the workpiece 14 clamped in the pocket hole jig 10 withthe center line of the workpiece 85 aligned the dotted center line 27 ofhole combinations 92.

FIG. 19B is an enlargement of FIG. 19A.

FIG. 19C shows the workpiece 14 centered on the yellow area of thedecal/indicia 53 for the hole combination of holes B and C 92.

FIG. 19 D is an enlargement of FIG. 19 B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1A a woodworking machinery jig and fixture system isdisclosed incorporating a pocket hole jig 10 and a side mounted flipstop arm 16 and a decal/indicia 24 mounted on the floor 26 of the jig10. The flip arm assembly 16 is secured to side 30 of the pocket holejig 10. The workpiece 14 is positioned against the stop bolt 33 forconsistent measuring of the multiple work pieces. As illustrated in FIG.1B the bolt 33 is held in place by a flip arm 32 which is bolted to theside 30 of the jig 10 with another bolt 34. A workpiece board 14 ispositioned on the jig 10 for drilling in the jig 10 and is in contactwith an adjustable positioning bolt 34 in the flip stop assembly 16.

Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B the flip stop 32 is L-shaped with ahole 40 on the end of the long leg with a slot 44 on the opposite endwith a V-notch 42 in the middle. FIG. 2C is an exploded view of the fliparm assembly 16 showing the adjustable bolt 33, the adjustable positionnut 46, the L-shaped flip arm 32 and the tightening thumb nut 36. FIG.2D shows a rotated view of FIG. 2C showing the adjustment bolt 33fitting into the notch 44 in the flip stop arm 32.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate the jig 10 with a flip stop assembly 16on both sides. The nearer one is in the active position 80 and the flipstop assembly 16 on the opposite side of the jig 10 is in the standbyposition 82 in which it is not touching the work piece 14.

FIG. 4A shows the jig 10 with a support board 48 for supporting a workpiece or panel. It shows the flip arm 32 mounted to the side of the jig10 with the arm positioned over the support board 48. A V-shaped notch42 in the flip arm 32 allows the flip arm 32 to rest in alignment withthe workpiece and not contact the support board. FIG. 4C is an endsection view of the support board 48 corner fitting into the flip stoparm V-notch 42.

FIG. 5A is a ground level perspective showing the pocket hole jig 10with a flip stop assembly 16 attached on the side of the jig 10. FIG. 5Billustrates the floor sides and the interior support ribs 52 of theplastic pocket hole jig 10. FIG. 5C shows the flip arm 32 secured to thesolid wall of the jig with a nut 46 and a bolt 34 positioned in a holein the jig wall 52. FIG. 5D is an exploded view of FIG. 5C.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C show the securing bolt 34 engaging a coupler nut 54inside the jig 10 which also is secured to a U-shaped extrusion 56 onthe opposite end of the coupler nut 54. A coupler nut 54 is also boltedto the opposite leg of the U-shaped extrusion 56. An interior rib 52 ofthe jig 10 is locked between the U-shaped extrusion 56 and the couplernut 54. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the U-shaped extrusion 56 witha cut away view of half of the extrusion side leg showing the boltthreads.

FIG. 7A is an exploded view of the inside of the jig with a widerU-shaped extrusion 58 that is the width of the double coupler andU-shaped unit described in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C. The bolt 34 secures theflip arm 32 by engaging a threaded hole 60 in the side wall of thecustom designed U-shaped extrusion 58. The view is expanded but theparts are in line with each other. FIG. 7B is an isometric view of theinside of the jig with a wider U-shaped extrusion 58 and the flip stopassembly 16 with the parts aligned with each other. FIG. 7C is anexploded view of FIG. 7B with an additional flip arm 32 to illustratecoupling to the U-shaped extrusion 58.

FIG. 8A is a perspective of the custom made U-shaped extrusion 58illustrating the threaded hole 60 near the side of the side wall and anotch 64 located on the inside corner of the extrusion 58. FIG. 8Billustrates the angle of the outside of the U-shaped extrusion wall 66designed to fit the angle of the inside of the injection molded jig 10.FIG. 8C is the same perspective as FIG. 8B and illustrates small grooves98 above and below the threaded hole 60 for the option of gluing theextrusion 58 in place inside the jig 10. FIG. 8D illustrates a notch 64in the inside corner of the extrusion 58 which allows the side walls 66to be angled slightly for a snug fit inside the jig. FIG. 8E is aclose-up view of the notch 64.

FIG. 9A is a perspective of the flip arm assembly 16 secured on the longbolt 34 attached to the side of the jig 10. FIG. 9B is a close up of theflip stop assembly 16 illustrating the nut 46 locking the bolt 34 to thejig 10 and showing the detail of the V-notch 42 in the middle of theflip arm 32 not contacting the support workpiece support board. FIG. 9Cis a close-up view of the flip stop arm 32. FIG. 9D illustrates the fliparm assembly 16 positioned on a threaded bolt 34 positioned away fromthe jig 10 and the flip stop arm 32 is in contact with the tip of amitered board 68. FIG. 9E is a detail of the miter point pf the miteredboard 68 in contact with flip arm 32.

FIG. 10A shows the drill guide block 12 sliding into the portable base70. FIG. 10B is an expanded view of the portable base 70, thedecal/indicia 24, and the flip arm 32 and the custom extrusion 72. FIG.10C is a perspective cut away view of the portable base 70 and thescrews 50 that fit through the holes inside the base and thread into theholes 60 on the top of the custom made extrusion 72. FIG. 10D is an endview of the portable custom designed extrusion 72 showing a T-slot 97,hole 40 and a U-channel 71. FIG. 10E is a sectional view of the customextrusion 72 illustrated in FIG. 10D showing how the flip stop assembly16 is connected to the jig 10 with a threaded bolt 34.

FIG. 11A is a perspective showing the angle of a miter joint resting onthe portable base 70 floor with the tip of the mitered board 68contacting the flip stop arm 32 secured to the jig 10 with a long bolt34. FIG. 11B is a close-up view of the FIG. 11A illustrating thedecal/indicia 24 viewable from the front of the portable base 70 floor.FIG. 11C illustrates the tip of the mitered board 68 in contact with theflip arm 32. The functional visibility of the decal/indicia 24 on atleast one surface or from at least one vantage allows a user toprecisely position a workpiece in relation to the various openings inthe jig 10, even when the openings on the vertical face of the jig 10are obscured, in whole or in part, by the workpiece.

FIG. 12A illustrates a version of the flip assembly with the materialsupport arm 84 secured to the jig with a bolt 34. FIG. 12B illustratesthe slot 44 added to the in the flip arm 84 to easily remove andreposition the adjustment bolt assembly. FIG. 12C is an enlarged view ofFIG. 12A. FIG. 12D illustrates a V-notch 99 made in the middle of theflip arm 84, such as the KREG flip arm. FIG. 12E is a perspective viewof the V-notch 99 added to the flip arm 84.

FIG. 13A illustrates a modified material support arm 84, such as theKREG arm, that was drilled and taped at 90 degrees from the through holeused to attach the arm 84 (shown in FIG. 12A). It is threaded on to abolt 34 fitted to the jig 10 and secured with a nut 46. FIG. 13B is aclose-up view of FIG. 13A. FIG. 13C illustrates FIG. 13A with a miteredboard 68 contacting the support arm 84. FIG. 13D is a close up of FIG.13C showing the miter point against the support arm stop 84. FIG. 13Eillustrates a workpiece resting on the material support base 86, such asthe KREG material support base, with the thin metal flip arm 32 of theinvention elevated to engage the end of the board to record the desiredposition of the workpieces. The base on the left has the flip stop arm32 in the active position 80 while the flip stop arm 32 on the right isbelow the workpiece in the stand by position 82.

FIG. 14A is a perspective of the jig 10 with the drill guide block 12removed to show the decal/indicia 24 of the invention, which in one formis a piece of screen-printed thin aluminum sheet stock die cut in aT-shape 76 with the shape of two rectangles connected to each other.FIG. 14B is a close up of the decal/indicia 24. The decal/indicia 24 canalso be printed on an adhesive backed label, laser etched and painted,and the like. FIG. 14C is a close-up view of the decal/indicia 24 fittedbetween the two elevated ribs 78 on the floor of the jig 10.

FIG. 15A shows how the body of the drill guide block 12 fits into theportable base 70. FIG. 15B is an exploded view of the decal/indicia 24and the portable base 70. It shows that the decal/indicia is bent at 90degrees so that it also covers the front floor of the portable base 70.FIG. 15C shows the decal/indicia 24 positioned between the elevated ribsat the bottom of the injection molded portable base 70 floor. FIG. 15Dis a close-up view of FIG. 15C illustrating how the 90 degree bend inthe decal/indicia 24 allows it to be viewed from the front of the jig10. FIG. 15E is a close up of FIG. 15C showing just the dotted centerlines of the pocket hole combinations 27.

FIG. 16A is a view of the pocket hole jig 10 with the clamp removed foreasy viewing of the decal/indicia 24 on the front of the jig 10. FIG.16B is an enlargement of FIG. 16A showing the relationship between thethree pocket hole guide bushings A 13, B 15 and C 17 and thedecal/indicia 24. The wide blue line 45 represent the middle of thedrill guide holes.

FIG. 17A is a smaller version of FIG. 16B sized so that it can beillustrated on a page with the other sectors of information shown nextto each other. It shows the combination of all three holes 91. FIG. 17Billustrates 92 which the smaller B 15 and C 17 hole combination. FIG.17C illustrates 93 which is the medium size 15 an 13 and holecombination. FIG. 17D illustrates 94 which is the widest 17 and 13 holecombination. FIGS. 17E, F, G and H illustrate the pocket hole centerline combinations. FIGS. 17I, J, K and L illustrate the pocket holecenter line combinations 9. Looking at FIGS. 17D and 17H, the wide bluelines represent the respective centers of the aligned holes 17 and 13.Then, as shown in FIG. 17L, the dashed line represents the center linebetween the holes 17 and 13. Turning to FIGS. 17C and 17G, the wide bluelines represent the respective centers of the aligned holes 15 and 13.Then, as shown in FIG. 17K, the dashed line represents the center linebetween the holes 15 and 13. Turning to FIGS. 17B and 17F, the wide bluelines represent the respective centers of the aligned holes 17 and 15.Then, as shown in FIG. 17J, the dashed line represents the center linebetween the holes 17 and 15. Finally, all of the wide blue lines areillustrated on FIG. 17E representing the respective centers of alignedholes 17, 15 and 13. And FIG. 17I includes the dashed linerepresentations of the respective centers between paired combinations ofthe holes 17, 15 and 13. The functionality provided by the decal/indicia24 properly engaged with and aligned to the plurality of drill guidepassageways allows for precise, quick, repeatable and convenientpositioning of a workpiece on the jig 10 to form the desired arrangementof holes in the workpiece.

FIG. 18A illustrates the relationship of the pocket hole combinationsusing the symbols for yellow and silver. 91 is the pocket holecombination of holes 17, 15 and 13. 92 is the pocket hole combination ofholes 17 and 15. 93 is the pocket hole combination of holes 15 and 13.FIG. 18B is an enlarged version of FIG. 18A illustrating the overlap ofcombinations 92 and 93. FIG. 18C illustrates the combination of linesand colored symbols.

FIG. 19A shows the workpiece 14 clamped in the pocket hole jig 10 withthe center line 85 of the workpiece 14 aligned with the dotted centerline of hole combinations 92 of the decal/indicia 24 shown in FIG. 17J.FIG. 19B is an enlargement of FIG. 19B. FIG. 19C shows the workpiece 14centered on the yellow area of the decal/indicia 53. FIG. 19D is anenlargement of FIG. 19B. The decal/indicia 24 can be configured toinclude color coding and line markings, such that the functionalrelationships both between the workpiece and the respective indicia canbe discerned and between the color coding and line markings.

Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described inconsiderable detail. Many modifications and variations to the preferredembodiments described will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill inthe art. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to theembodiments described.

I claim:
 1. A flip stop assembly capable of use with jig and fixturesystems, the flip stop assembly comprising: a flip member extending froma proximal end to a distal end, the proximal end being configured forrotational engagement about an axis; wherein a notch is defined in theflip member between the proximal end and the distal end.
 2. The flipstop assembly of claim 1, wherein the notch is approximately 90 degrees.3. The flip stop assembly of claim 1, wherein the notch is positionedmidway between the proximal end and the distal end.
 4. The flip stopassembly of claim 1, further comprising a slot in the flip member nearthe distal end.
 5. The flip stop assembly of claim 4, further comprisinga positioning member releasably engaged with the slot and extending awayfrom the distal end of the flip member, wherein the positioning memberis configured to be adjustable in a direction of the axis.
 6. The flipstop assembly of claim 5, further comprising: an adjustment memberengaged with the positioning member on a first side of the flip memberto adjust a distance the positioning member extends away from the firstside of the flip member; and a lock member engaged with the positioningmember on a second side of the flip member to selective fix the distancethe positioning member extends away from the first side of the flipmember.
 7. The flip stop assembly of claim 6, wherein: the positioningmember comprises a threaded rod positioned to extend laterally throughthe flip member near the distal end; the adjustment member comprises afirst threaded member engaged with the threaded rod and positioned toabut the first side of the flip member; and the lock member comprises asecond threaded member engaged with the threaded rod and positioned toabut a second side of the flip member that is opposite the first side;wherein the positioning member is secured to the flip member when thefirst threaded member and the second threaded member are engaged withthe respective first side and second side of the flip member.
 8. Theflip stop assembly of claim 7, wherein: the threaded rod comprises abolt; the first threaded member is a nut; and the second threaded memberis a thumb nut.
 9. A flip stop capable of use with jig and fixturesystems, the flip stop comprising: a body extending from a first end toa second end; a hole proximate the first end and configured to establishrotational mounting of the flip stop; a slot proximate the second end;and a notch positioned between the first end and the second end.
 10. Theflip stop of claim 9, wherein the notch defines a generally V-shape. 11.The flip stop of claim 9, wherein opposing walls defining the notch areoriented at approximately ninety degrees.
 12. The flip stop of claim 11,wherein a base of the notch is skewed relative to the opposing walls.13. The flip stop of claim 12, wherein the base defines a wall that iscoplanar with an imaginary plane intersecting a first central axis ofthe hole and a second central axis of the slot.
 14. The flip stop ofclaim 9, wherein the second end defines an arcuate head.
 15. The flipstop of claim 9, wherein: the slot opens in a first direction; and thenotch openings in the first direction.
 16. A flip stop assembly capableof use with jig and fixture systems having a base portion and a guideportion, the flip stop assembly comprising: a flip stop body extendingfrom a first end to a second end, the flip stop body defining: anopening proximate the first end; a slot proximate the second end; and anotch between the first end and the second end; a positioning memberconfigured to selectively engage the slot and extend laterally from theflip stop body.
 17. The flip stop assembly of claim 16, wherein the flipstop assembly is pivotable about an axis of the opening between anactive position, at which the second end of the flip stop bodyintersects a working area defined by the base portion and the guideportion, and a standby position, at which the second end of the flipstop body does not intersect the working area.
 18. The flip stopassembly of claim 16, wherein the notch is positioned intermediate thefirst end and the second end.
 19. The flip stop assembly of claim 16,wherein the opening is configured to be rotatably coupled to one of thebase portion and the guide portion.